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I am participating in Daan Utsav to help farmers earn better yields and sustain their farming businesses

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Story

Meet Samina Bibi. Married and mother of 2. Today she is sole responsible for feeding 9 mouths. Living with her in laws, she comes from a community which is not so supportive of women working or stepping out of their for that matter. But things took a turn when her husband’s disinterest in family matters and lack of efforts in farming lead to months of hunger and its subsequent turmoil. The family’s sole income has been from farming over the years now. One bad harvest costs them at least 6 months earnings. Seeing her kids starved and on the verge of being dropped out from school, she decided to take charge.”I have never questioned my faith in God or the rules of my religion, but would He be okay if I let my kids starve when I am capable of doing work?” With thoughts such as these and multiple meals of boiled potatoes with rice from a bad harvest, Samina decided to “cross the line”

She applied for a loan of Rs. 15000 from Milaap and decided to be a farmer herself. “Owning a fertile land such as ours, you need God’s grace”, she said. The loan amount was used to purchase good quality paddy seeds and manure. She also decided to invest in good amount of fertilizers and pesticides. Post the loan, her day would start as early as 5. Working on every activity, she had a plan sorted out. Her elder daughter and brother in laws helped her too. To pay off the installments, she started taking small stitching orders and saved those earnings for weekly repayments

Small towns in India are filled with young hardworking women farmers. They make the best of the limited opportunities and resources available to them. Their success inspires more people around them to do something similar. BJS and Prayas has been helping enterprising locals in West Bengal and Gujarat to become self-sufficient. The micro credits help them start fresh despite a bad harvest.